THEY were the first princesses of pop - forget the Spice Girls or Girls Aloud. Their beauty, talent and sex appeal made Pan's People the most famous women in Britain, icons to a generation.

THEY were the first princesses of pop - forget the Spice Girls or Girls Aloud.

Their beauty, talent and sex appeal made Pan's People the most famous women in Britain, icons to a generation.

And unlike many girl groups today, there was no jealousy or bitchiness.

Which is why the sad news of the death of Flick Colby, who founded the dance troupe in 1966, has torn apart a sisterhood which lasted almost 50 years.

In the days before music videos, Pan's People were the sexy dance troupe who performed on Top Of The Pops.

Appearing on primetime TV every week made them household names. They became as well known as the music stars whose hits they danced to.

From their debut performance in 1968, Pan's People's racy costumes and sexy dance routines had a generation of teenage boys - and their dads - fixated.

In fact, there is a question in the Trivial Pursuit board game about them: "What is the name of the famous dance group that outraged Mary Whitehouse?"

By the early Seventies, the famous line-up of Dee Dee, Babs, Louise, Ruth and Cherry was complete.

Flick, who had originally danced with them, decided to concentrate on choreography and she was the brains behind their success.

During their reign, Pan's People led the celebrity life, meeting Rod Stewart, Status Quo, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger and The Beatles.

Ironically, when the girls decided to release their own singles, they were not allowed to appear on TOTP.

Despite signing a record deal with CBS, their two singles flopped and they went their separate ways, dancing their last in April 1976.

All but two of the six women remained in the UK.

Cherry Gillespie married Rob Dickens, the godfather of the British music industry who was responsible for the careers of Mick Hucknall, Cher, The Corrs and Enya. Having lived in Australia, they are now based in France.

Flick returned to America and settled in New York, where she ran a gift shop. She battled cancer for 24 years before succumbing to bronchial pneumonia.

The dancing queens, who stayed in touch despite going in different directions, spoke of their bond and how Flick will always be remembered.

Dee Dee Wilde

The 65-year-old has written children's books and released a dance DVD.

She is now putting together the history of Pan's People and is set to marry her partner, composer Henry Marsh, in September.

Dee Dee has two children from her previous marriage, and spent more than 20 years running the Dance Attic studios in West London, where the Spice Girls, Westlife and Boyzone used to rehearse.

She said: "Flick, Babs, Ruth and I were in a group called The Beat Girls, dancing on a show on BBC2. We walked out at Christmas 1966, and spent a night coming up with a new group.

"Pan is the God of music and dance and he had six handmaidens. So we decided on Pan's People. There'd be six of us and the line-up would remain the same, which was unusual for those days. After a couple of years touring Europe, we got our break on TOTP in 1968. Flick was our little matriarch, the one who made us a success and held us all together.

"We all surprised her on her 60th birthday by turning up in New York for a visit. We were her British sisters, her family in the UK."

Babs Powell

Now 65, Babs left the dance group when she fell in love with actor Robert Powell.

After being a housewife and mum to their two children, she is now an amateur yachtswoman and world explorer, having completed many charity expeditions.

They have two children, Barney and Katie, and live in north London.

She said: "My husband was about to go out to north Africa to film Jesus Of Nazareth when I realised the showbiz lifestyle wasn't going to work for me. Despite leaving the group, the girls have been there for me all my life. They met me when I returned from a round-the-world yacht race in 2001 and we've come together for birthdays and Christmases.

"Flick was the catalyst for many of our reunions."

Ruth Pearson

The longest serving Pan's person, appearing on TOTP throughout the group's seven-year run, Ruth went on to co-manage their successor Legs & Co with Flick.

She then worked as a fish chef and an aerobics teacher before taking a computing course and working in IT for a local council.

Now 61, she lives in London and has never married. "I turned my back on showbusiness and I have no regrets about that at all, " she said.

"At the height of our fame, I'd find myself sitting next to Paul McCartney at Tramp nightclub in London or being invited to Ronnie Wood's house.

"One day, I was backstage at Parkinson and Gene Kelly came up with Fred Astaire. He introduced himself and we got chatting.

"When the time came for him to go off to be prepared for his slot on the show, he insisted his make-up crew came over to our table so he could continue the conversation. It turned out Gene had requested to meet us."

Louise Clarke

Louise, 61, married property developer Tony Dobson and settled down with their son and three stepsons.

She now has seven grandchildren and lives in Suffolk.

Sadly, her husband died last year.

Louise ran a beauty salon, a health club and a courier service before she retired.

She said: "It was after Pan's People began winding down that I met my husband and fell in love.

"He saw me on a magazine cover and tracked me down. As soon as I met him, my attitude to life changed and I wanted to settle down and have a child.

"My family are my priority now, though I miss the buzz of performing.

"Flick really changed so much in so many of our lives.

"Pan's People was enormously important and shaped who we are today. We don't want her to be remembered as a go-go girl and choreographer. She worked in theatre and opera, too. She was a woman of so many talents."